Photo By Master Sgt. Natasha Stannard | U.S. Army Pvt. Joseph McDermott, a student assigned to the Maritime Intermodal...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. - Looking into the shadowy cement-walled and steel-plated tank beneath her, the U.S. Army Soldier took a long breath as if the air held the poise needed to grab the ladder to descend into the enclosure filled with more than half her height worth of water.
As Pvt. Kacie Curtis, a watercraft operator student with the Maritime Intermodal Training Department based out of Fort Eustis, Virginia, took her first step into the damage control tank filled with 3 feet of water, she again took a drawn-out breath and set out to help her team with the task at hand, stop more water from entering the tank.
The tank is a mock-up vessel enclosure used for simulation training exercises that prepare maritime Soldiers for various scenarios out at sea, such as receiving enemy fire, or hitting an iceberg or rock causing parts of the vessel to rupture and take in water at an expedient rate.
“The main priority is to stop the water flow by at least 50 percent,” said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Leger, an MITD watercraft operator instructor, explaining that once the water is stopped at that rate, the vessel’s pumps generate and filter out most of the residual water, decreasing the likelihood of sinking.
Because the training is close to real-world, most initial entry students fail their first go at stopping the rushing water from various orifices; however, the instructor’s goal for first timers is to familiarize them with what could happen, and highlight the importance of working as a team.
“We want to get them right to that line of top performance without them wanting to quit or risking safety,” said Leger. “When the real thing happens it’s going to be crazy, it’s going to be dark, it’s going to be loud. There are going to be people trying to do 10,000 things at one time … it’s like going to the range; you do it every year so that when you actually go into combat, it’s not as difficult because your mind is prepared for what could happen.”
As the students waded through the murky tank, those below deck applied classroom skills learned the day prior to assess the damage and determine materials needed from students above deck.
“We need a two by four, and a wedge,” shouted the students below deck to those above as they worked through the problem together.
As the materials made their way through the assembly line, those in the water worked to utilize the puzzle pieces correctly by hammering, pushing and bracing them against the endless flow of water.
According to Leger, the training is similar to what he experienced during a deployment when his vessel began to fill with water and the crew had to get the ship back to port near Kuwait, during which he learned the value of DCT exposure.
“I’ve been on a boat taking on water before and it’s kind of crazy because that vessel has your food, your clothing—everything, so you have a much higher chance of survival being on that boat as long as possible versus getting into a life raft,” explained Leger. “The longer you can keep that boat up and stay on that vessel, the better of a chance you are going to have to get back without any injuries.”
While these students would have drowned were this not a simulation, as is the case with many others who initially go through the course, they familiarized themselves with what a ship taking on 4,700 gallons of water is like, gaining the composure needed to be a vital asset on a vessel with more experienced Soldiers.
“The only people available to take care of the problem are the crew,” said Leger, of the importance of this exposure training. “There is no 9-11, there’s no fire department, nobody can get there right then and there, so it’s dependent on the crew having the skills to do damage control.”
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2016 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 187786 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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